Culture, Law and Justice

Elements of Culture

• Values are fundamental beliefs about what is good, right, and desirable in a society.
• Norms are everyday rules that govern behavior
• Folkways are customary ways of behaving
• Mores are norms related to morals
• Laws are guaranteed punishments for certain behaviors

Families of Law

• Common law is based on legal precedent and found in the USA
  • Employs judicial law-making
  • Creates precedent
  • Uses courtroom battles to resolve disputes
• Civil law relies on codified laws
  • Courts work together to interpret the law
  • Legislation is the only source of law
  • There is no precedent

Types of Justice

• Comparative justice dictates people in similar situations should be treated similarly
• Discriminatory justice involves law enforced on someone because of their characteristics
• Distributive justice is when the government directs resources to individuals
• Procedural justice ensures that decisions are reached through fair procedures
• Restorative justice entails people compensated for damages or injuries
• Retributive justice is when the government punishes one for harming others or society
• Substantive Justice guarantees fundamental rights

Legal Traditions

• Socialist legal tradition supports the collective good
  • Addresses economic crimes such as not showing up to work or taking more than needed
  • Gives more power to the Procurator (power than judges)
  • Features political justice
  • Has little to no freedom of speech
• Islamic Legal Tradition is based on religious law.
• International Law governs relations between countries

Defining Law

• Law and official authority are related because law is written as law.
• Law in action is what law really means
• Law and physical force are connected because law compels people to do something.
• Law coercion leads specialization within the police force
• Justice requires laws to be public, clear, concise, and not always changing
• Law and social integration are linked because law integrates society by creating social relationships
• Law and custom mean once a custom is law, it is enforced

Law and Society vs Jurisprudence

• Jurisprudence is the study of the philosophy of law
• Considers whether a law is needed and if it solves a problem
• Law and society are related because law is influenced by external events

Functions and Dysfunctions of Law

• Social control ensures people do the right thing
• Dispute resolution resolves inconsistent claims on something of value
• Social change fixes a problem in society (Brown v. Board of Education)
• Harassment occurs when people are brought to court to harass others instead of resolving conflict
• Bias may lead to the favoring of one group over others
• Repression occurs
• Rigidity means law is based on a clear set of rules
• Precedent means the law can be slow to change due to precedent
• Unequal access to justice affects the poor
• Conservatism is when courts follow decisions made during wartime
• Decreasing political activism happens because of reliance on law and courts
• Impeding social change limits people to vindicate their rights and liberties
• Failure of government to act by failing to pass laws to protect specific groups

Public vs. Private Law

• Public law regulates relationships between the government and its citizens
  • Includes criminal law which involves the punishment of crimes and investigation/detection
  • Includes constitutional law that defines the branches of government and limits of power
  • Includes administrative law that governs the authority of government to regulate activities
• Private law regulates relations between people, companies, organizations, and property

Consensus vs. Conflict Perspectives on Law

• Consensus View of Society: Sees law as stable, sharing values/interests.
  • Law exists to preserve order and protect social interests.
  • Focuses on security and conservation of resources and well-being
  • The social structure that is cooperative and law integrates society
• Conflict View of Society: Characterized by competition, conflict over power, wealth, etc.
  • The law is a tool used by the powerful to maintain their dominance.
  • Law reflects interests of dominant groups, leading to inequality for weaker groups.
  • The social structure is hierarchical, with elites at the top and the poor at the bottom.

Explores the fundamental elements of culture, including values, norms, folkways, mores, and laws. It contrasts common law and civil law systems, highlighting their distinct approaches to legal precedent and dispute resolution. The note also identifies types of justice.